Back when, we got a lot of questions about how we packed and made ends meet. (Click Here if you're curious). Here's a quick take on our approach this go around, a decidedly less stressful affair.
Packing:
Packing for a year abroad was a lesson in essentialism, practicality, and flexibility. We found a way to subsist with one check-in bag and a backpack for the entire year. So as not to make this trip too easy, we're limiting ourselves to one European size carry-on and a backpack for each of us. We Americans love to go big. The Euros believe less is more. Three-ish weeks in 22x14x8... Easy peasy.  |
| With room to spare |
One of many things we learned: when in doubt, leave it at home. If you really need something, stores are everywhere.
In late 2019, we invested heavily in Norwegian Air tickets to get ourselves to Central Europe. At the time, they were the low cost Trans-Atlantic darlings. March 2020 froze our investment and went on to bankrupt Norwegian Air. A year later they abandoned their Trans-Atlantic routes, sequestering our mountain of Norwegian Air points for use in a 500 mile radius around Norway... Not terribly useful for a bunch of Californians. Through some clever Google Flights algorithms, I found the most cost effective way to get us to Budapest and Prague while taking advantage of a chunk of our points - get a roundtrip from SFO to Copenhagen, and transfer to Norwegian Air when we get there; a mere two days later. Hence our two-day layover in Copenhagen. Tivoli Gardens, here we come... again! (we still have a boat load of points on Norwegian Air)
What To Do:
YouTube. Pinterest. That's about it. So much content now. Too much really. Way more than we used to have. We now have pages of notes of what to see, where to eat, how to get around, and what to avoid.
We've also found some Airbnb Experiences we're excited about.
Where to Stay:
As we've come to expect, Airbnb is our savior. We relied on it heavily five years ago, and it continues to offer up the best options for a group of six. Our goal, as always, is to find places immersed in the local scenes, with a place to cook, a common area to relax (i.e., a place for Bryce to watch Youtube at 6am in the morning), and some privacy to sleep.
How to Communicate:
Five phones, unlimited international data, no fussing with sim cards, for a modest extra cost... GoogleFi. It really is the best international plan.
Oldies but Goodies:
"Hey, this still fits!" exclaimed Nicole as she tried on her favorite travel pants. Our old bag of electronic gizmos is still intact (this still ranks as our favorite travel gadget). The travel belt that hides a stack of $20 bills is ready to go. I even still have my special exofficio travel boxers. The travel chromebook (upgraded to a Pixelbook) fits neatly in our backpack, and our Chase Sapphire card still protects us from international fees.
Logging Out and Logging Back In:
I can't remember a thing anymore. On the way to the bathroom, I'll have an epiphany that will change the world. By the time I settle back in at my desk, the spark of brilliance is a pile of ash. I spent the better part of the past week, setting up breadcrumbs in my calendar to tell myself what to think when I get back. In addition, it takes me some time to shake the cobwebs to pick up where I left off. My curve looks like this:
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| I'm doing my best to flatten this curve |
The Rest of It:
As before, our place will be tended to by Nicole's Aunts, and Nicole's Father will tend to the chickens and cats. We don't have to worry about homeschooling, travel insurance, visas, or how to get us to another continent. Nicole has conveniently paused her personal chef business, and the trip fits within my accumulated PTO funds, so the revenue stream is still flowing. This will be.... Easy peasy.
Although that pesky leaky sprinkler valve will likely haunt me on the trip.
